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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26805070">The Tortoise and the Hare</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat'>charons_boat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brief fighting, Cold Blooded, Curses, Cute boys, M/M, Magic, Racing, Rain, birthday truces, but means well, chan has rabbit ears, changbin is just, changbin is very handy, enemies to ??? to lovers??, hare!chan, inspired by the tortoise and the hare (the fable and the song), magic tree, minho is kind of a lil shit, they call him lee know, tortoise!changbin, witch!minho, wizard!minho - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:14:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,384</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26805070</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since that first race, Changbin and Chan have been unable to die. Some force of magic gave them human forms and decreed that until the hare beat the tortoise in a race, they were to live eternally.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bang Chan/Seo Changbin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Tortoise and the Hare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>it's still october third here so it's still channie day. tada. channie bday fic. also this is the first one I've written for a kpop bday so,, comment pls and tell me what u thought</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's raining today. I know it's miserable to run in the rain, especially for Changbin. He gets cold so easily, and-- well, I guess that's what happens when you're turned from a reptile into a pseudo-human. I don't know what day it really is, or even how long it's been since that very first race, but neither of those things stop me from slowing down and coming to a stop. As the rain continues to pour down, I decide that I'll wait for him here. </p><p>I can hear him, his harsh breathing and near-frantic heartbeat. It sets my own heart racing with panic, because <em>why did he insist on racing today with the sky so thickly covered?</em> I hope, for a brief moment, to hear Changbin's breath even and his heart slow, but my ears pick up the opposite; I run. I set off sprinting to get to Changbin, slipping in the mud over and over and only falling once: I push myself right back up again and keep running. I could've sworn that Changbin wasn't that far behind me, but it seems to take forever to get to him. </p><p>He's stopped jogging when I get to him, bent over with his hands on his knees as he wheezes. I almost barrel into him but skid to a stop, thoroughly muddying my worn running shoes in the process. He groans when he sees me (which only happens <em>after</em> I fall backwards almost even with his face) and drags a hand down his face. He's shivering so much that I can see it without even needing to touch him. I gently grab his ankle and find his skin too cold for my liking before he pulls it from my grasp. </p><p>"Whatta ya want, Chan?" I know he means it to sound annoyed or angry--he always does--but he just sounds tired and cold and miserable. I push myself up off the ground and rub the mud off my ears. I'm careful to make sure they don't hit Changbin on the way up, something that'd happened before and that he'd expressed an explicit annoyance to. </p><p>"I just-- I heard you having trouble, and I wanted to make sure--"</p><p>"I'm <em>fine</em>" the tortoise spits at me. "Why don't go you go faster and end this stupid race so that I'll finally be able to rest?" I don't remind him that it was his turn to declare the race this time. </p><p>"There's no need to hurry, Changbin. Time ticking by doesn't really matter, 'cause we haven't been affected by it until now, so--"</p><p>"Oh, shut up! You used to tell me all the time that I was so slow it frustrated you! You were always like, <em>Changbin, hurry up! Changbin, you're so slow! Changbin, why are you still sitting there? Why are you so slow? This is so frustrating! Do you even know how frustrating it is for me to have to slow down so much and still get beaten by you? Fast is good! Trust me, I'd know!</em> Why is it so different now! Why do you--"</p><p>"It's my birthday," I say quietly. It's probably not the truth. All that matters is he shakes his head and sighs. He runs his hands through his dark hair and nods. </p><p>"Okay. Let's go then." I walk towards the tree with him, wondering whether the tunnels below it are all flooded yet. We'll probably have to sit in the lean-to instead of the tunnels. Maybe the door to the city will be okay though. If so, maybe we'll be able to have somewhat of a picnic. He doesn't talk on the way; instead, he just stares at the ground ahead of us and shivers. I'm so much warmer than he is--I know I am--because he used to be a reptile and I used to be a mammal, and that carried over. He's still kind of cold-blooded. The tree is still so far away. I tentatively reach out and grab his wrist (he's got his hands on his hips like he usually does after he's stopped jogging). Changbin stops and turns his head to look at me through the curtain of his dripping hair and the pouring rain. He quirks an eyebrow, a motion I can barely see but, god, does he look <em>good</em> doing that. </p><p>"Do you want a piggyback? You're kinda… shivering. I'm worried." The last part is whispered, and I don't know that he really heard me say it, but he nods while biting his lip. I let go of his wrist and let him walk around behind me. He laughs, and I can't help but glance behind me to watch. He looks so happy when he laughs. I like it. </p><p>"You've got all kinds of mud in your hair and shirt, Chan!" He keeps giggling and I almost want to join him; I don't because I'm not sure whether he'll take offense to it. As it stands, I just smile and nod. </p><p>"I forgot that I fell down," I murmur. After a moment of hesitation, I pull my shirt over my head. Changbin stops laughing. I tuck the shirt into the hem of my cut-off jeans and crouch down a bit. When he climbs onto my back, I grab his thighs and stand up. His breath isn't very warm, but it still sends chills down my spine when it ghosts over my ear. I always forget that Changbin needs so much warmth and that he's so muscly; I can't help but notice it now because he's pressed as close to my skin as he possibly can be, and I can feel every muscle through his soaked shirt. His arms <em>have to be</em> at least twice as big as mine. Changbin hooks his chin over my shoulder, and within minutes he has his cheek pressed against my face. He's finally breathing evenly and his heart rate has slowed significantly. </p><p>I like saying it's my birthday. I say it much more often than Changbin does, but he never gets annoyed about it. He just… lets himself relax when I say it. I've tried to beat him so that this stupid curse would be fulfilled, but something always held me back. He'd yell at me after winning once more and I'd get mad and run back to the tree, and then we'd have to start all over again. We've run the race so many times--back and forth along the same path everytime--that we have the track beaten into the ground. We live in tunnels beneath the tree and the lean-to that Changbin had set up closer to the beginning than to now. We go to the city sometimes, when we've worn our shoes thin and our clothes into rags (that, or when we claim a birthday and need food for a picnic). I don't understand how we've ever got money for anything, but no one ever questions us when we use a card so old and faded that it's now entirely white to pay for things. It must be the man who cursed us; all we'd gotten out of him was that his name was Lee Know. </p><p>All the things we've had to do because of that man--the fighting, the racing, the birthday truces--have led up to this: to Changbin against my back, slowly getting warmer as rain drums against his back. Yeah, I'm muddier than I would like to be, and I <em>really</em> need to clean out my ears, but Changbin is closer than he's ever been and his weight is grounding, comforting. </p><p>"Changbin?" My voice is soft because I'm afraid to startle him. We might fall over if I scare him too badly. </p><p>"Yes, Channie?" My heart skips a few beats at that. His voice is just as soft as mine and strangely trusting. Changbin is almost an entirely different person when we race. I realize that I love both sides: the tenacious tortoise who won't accept pity or knocks to his pride and never gives up, and the soft, warmth-seeking reptile whose laughs feel like sunlight against my ears. He rarely calls me Channie, even less than he calls me Chan. </p><p>"You know I don't think that anymore, right? I don't think you're slow and it doesn't frustrate me. You've gotten a lot faster, really, and I'm proud of you for that. You never stop trying. I… I admire that." It's not the word I want to say, but it's the only one I think he'll accept. "I'm sorry that I can't beat you, Changbin. I just don't want to give you up. I'm scared of what will happen afterwards. Either we'll turn to dust from being alive for so much longer than we ought to have, or we'll turn back into animals and go our separate ways, but I-- I can't. I <em>want</em> to just be human after we finish the race, but Lee Know didn't tell us what'd happen after I beat you and so now… I'm scared. I don't wanna lose you, Binnie." Changbin hums and raises a hand to wipe my tears. </p><p>"I know. I'm sorry I always bring up the past, Channie. I don't mean to get so combative, I just… I don't know. I try to let you win, and you never do. I never really thought about why you don't. I never wondered if… well. Thank you for worrying and stopping the race. I think that maybe we put too much importance into these races." His breath tickles against my ear, and it coerces a giggle from my lips. The rain begins to let up when we reach the tree, and a quick glance tells me that the tunnels are indeed flooded; Changbin lets me into his lean-to without a question, and I take a moment to look at all the new knick-knacks he's got scattered around on rickety, homemade shelves. Changbin's home is very cozy and warm, and there's a bag made out of raincoats in the corner (which I know has his clothes in it because I asked once, and he told me he'd made the bag himself so his clothes wouldn't get wet. My own attempt to do similar fell unsurprisingly short). </p><p>"Do you ever miss having a shell," I ask suddenly. I'd never asked before, but now that I'd thought of it, I was painfully curious of the answer. He furrows his brows and shrugs. </p><p>"I guess, sometimes. It was a whole lot safer. I don't really remember having one, though. I mean, I don't remember what it was like. I'd ask if you miss having big feet or ears, but you've still got both of those." I can tell from the smile on his face that the jab is meant as a joke. I shrug and lean back, and the long ears on top of my head brush against the wall of the lean-to. </p><p>"I don't miss the ears or the feet--the feet now are actually kind of a problem--but I do miss being able to jump so far and being able to smell so good. Human noses suck balls, and I can't jump <em>near</em> as far anymore. I do <em>not</em> miss the eagles though. You would not believe how many times a day those bastards tried to carry me off." Changbin bursts into raucous laughter, and this time, I let myself laugh with him. It feels good to laugh with him. </p><p>"We can go to town to get food for a picnic if you want, but you're gonna have to put on a shirt," Changbin says decisively sometime later. The rain has turned into sprinkles, and I smirk widely at the tortoise. </p><p>"What, you don't want me to show off for everyone?" Show off is a bit of a stretch, considering most of my muscle in my legs and the rest of me is more lean than anything impressive. Changbin snorts and tosses his head back. </p><p>"Well, you <em>also</em> need a shower because right now, you look like you rolled around in a pig pen. I'm not sure anyone would be attracted to a mud-covered hare, <em>even if</em> he were shirtless."</p><p>"Oh, really? <em>No one</em> would be attracted to me," I ask, leaning forward and grabbing his ankle again. Changbin blushes bright red and looks away. He huffs before saying, "Well, no one but me. That's only 'cause you're my only consistent source of warmth when it's cold, though." I laugh and nod, pushing myself up. </p><p>"Okay then, Changbin. I'll go grab some new clothes and we can go shower at the pool before shopping for food. And maybe shoes. I think I might've broken mine when I fell earlier."</p><p>"You didn't hurt yourself, did you? Chanathan Bang--"</p><p>"I still don't know where you got that."</p><p>"That's not what we're talking about and you kn--"</p><p>"Bye, Changbin! Going to the city! Come with me now or forever hold your peace!"</p><p>"Wait--"</p><p>And with that, the tortoise and the hare left for the city once more, using the magical door put into their tree by the man who paid for all their expenses and who'd cursed them in the first place, a man they knew only as Lee Know. He dropped from the tree once they were gone, laughing softly to himself. He was glad that they'd stopped fighting so much as they once did. The hare falling in love with the tortoise wasn't something he'd expected, nor was the unspoken rule of birthday truces, but he had to hand it to them: they were a crafty pair. Perhaps he'd tell them soon what would happen once Chan beat Changbin. It wasn't anything they expected; no, instead, Lee Know had already set up jobs for them as track coaches and had an apartment ready and waiting, left empty year after year as Chan refused to beat Changbin out of fear of losing his love. </p><p>Thousands of years and it had taken this long for Chan to let himself laugh along with Changbin. Lee Know had a feeling that after going so fast for so <em>very</em> long, Chan would want to take things slow. That was okay, though. They had all the time in the world for each other, and Lee Know had made sure of that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>find me on twt @sunwooseok_</p></blockquote></div></div>
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